heirloom tomato galette.

This heirloom tomato and fresh mozzarella galette has officially just blown my mind.

It’s almost like a pizza: A flaky, buttery pastry replaces the crust, a balsamic-Dijon blend acts as a sauce, slices of luscious heirloom tomatoes and fresh local mozzarella melt into each other like buttered toast, and a layer of garlic, olives, and Parmigiano-Reggiano seals the deal. Followed by a generous helping of fresh chives and basil after it comes out of the oven.

I realize it’s a bit of a stretch from this week’s recipe for The Food Matters Project, which is that of a savory tomato crisp. There, you won’t find a crust at all – tomatoes are topped with a cheesy breadcrumb-oat topping and baked. It’s really more of a gratin. (Get the original recipe here, on Nicole’s blog for her inspiring company seeking to teach others about doing good with food, The Giving Table.) Bittman points out that, of course, it would be best in summer when tomatoes are at their peak, but because baking them brings out their sweetness, you can get away with making this recipe all year long.

We’ve talked about the magical experience that is roasting tomatoes, and the same magic goes down here in this galette. Gorgeous heirloom tomatoes in vibrant shades of green, yellow, and red are a little piece of heaven this time of year, no matter how you slice it {hehe} … I ate the extra slices and scraps drizzled in olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt – heaven, I tell you! But when you cook them in this galette, their flavors intensify even moreso, and yes … MINDS. ARE. BLOWN.

What’s a galette, you ask? It’s just a fancy name for a free-form tart. It’s a rustic look, which I adore. The more imperfect, the more, er, perfect. This is my langé, people!

{Langé – pronounced lang-gay – is a term sort of like language, except not. You can thank Daniel for this one. Kind of like, you’re speaking my language. It translates to: This is totally my thing!}

Speaking of Daniel, who is infamous for not liking tomatoes … well, he scarfed this down and loved every second of it.

If you’re worried about tomatoes releasing too much moisture and leading to a soggy crust, don’t. We’ve taken care of that for you. Yes, even Daniel played a part!  As I was slicing these vibrant beauties, he requested that I remove the gunk (read: seeds) – which I did, in an effort helps to avoid any sogginess. I also salted them to extract even more moisture and patted them dry not once, but twice.

As it baked away in the oven and filled our apartment with intoxicating scents, I prayed and hoped that we wouldn’t end up with a watery mess. We did not.

Shall we discuss the dough? Okay, just for a minute. I started with this basic pie dough recipe from Williams-Sonoma and played a bit. First, in an ode to The Food Matters Project, I wanted to see if I could somehow make the crust just a wee bit healthier by adding some whole wheat pastry flour. This created a need for a little more water, I think, to get the dough to form.

I added lemon juice to help tenderize after I remembered reading a recipe at some point that used vinegar in the dough – because apparently, adding an acid produces a more tender crust. Similar to the vodka thing, which I’ve done before. No sugar, because that’s the only thing that takes a savory pie dough to a sweet pie dough. Easy enough! Lastly, I added a nice helping of black pepper to really up the savory ante. A fresh herb like thyme or rosemary would also be lovely…

Depending on which road you take with the rest of the ingredients. Why not try goat cheese? Feta might be nice. Play with your toppings as you wish. The only thing I ask is that you find the most gorgeous and fresh organic heirloom tomatoes you can get your hands on. They are the key to blowing people’s minds.

Savory Galette Dough

This partially whole wheat dough is buttery and oh-so flaky. Lemon juice helps to tenderize, and freshly ground black pepper adds to the savory appeal. You can easily omit the pepper, however, if you’re not feeling it. It would also work in a tart pan.

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 teaspoons cold lemon juice
• 4 – 5 tablespoons ice water

In a large bowl, combine all-purpose flour, whole wheat pastry flour, pepper, and salt with a fork. Scatter cubed butter over top. Place the bowl in the freezer for 15 minutes. Cut the butter into the flour mixture using a pastry cutter until it the butter is in small pea-sized pieces. (If you don’t have a pastry cutter, I like using a pizza cutter in a crunch!)

Drizzle lemon juice and 4 tablespoons water over the butter/flour mixture and combine using fork. The dough will come together just barely – add the remaining ice water if it’s still too dry. Lumps of butter in the dough are your friend – don’t overwork, because these lumps are the key to its lusciousness! Gently pat into a ball and then a disk, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Heirloom Tomato Galette

I toyed with the idea of calling this a caprese-style galette, but I didn’t – because the tomatoes are truly the star of the show. Plus, you can {and should} try substituting goat cheese for the mozzarella (see altered instructions for doing so below) which is on my agenda for next time.

• 1 disk savory galette dough
• 2 large or 3 medium heirloom tomatoes
• Flaky sea salt {like Fleur de Sel}
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon aged balsamic vinegar
• 3/4 pound fresh mozzarella, sliced
• 1/4 cup pitted black olives, chopped {Kalamata or Niçoise}
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water
• 1 tablespoon each freshly snipped chives and basil

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and set it on the counter.

Slice the tomatoes. Remove the seeds gently with your fingers over the sink, and pat the slices dry as you lay them onto paper towels. Sprinkle with sea salt. (This is going to draw more moisture from the tomatoes.)

Line a baking sheet with parchment. Lightly flour your work surface and rolling pin. Set the disk onto the floured surface and gently hit it a few times with the rolling pin to flatten it. Roll it into a 12-inch circle, flipping it over one time, and re-flouring the pin as necessary to prevent it from sticking. Hang the dough over the rolling pin to transfer it to the parchment-lined baking sheet.

In a small bowl, combine Dijon mustard and balsamic vinegar using a fork or whisk. Pour onto the dough and spread into a roughly 10-inch circle.

Pat tomato slices dry using a paper towel as you lay them onto the galette, alternating with slices of mozzarella, in a concentric circle. Sprinkle with chopped olives, garlic, and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Fold the 2-inch edge of dough over top of the filling, making a few pretty pinches as you go. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect – it’s not supposed to be! You’re going for the rustic look here. Brush the egg wash on the dough.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Transfer to a cooling rack, along with the parchment paper, and cool for 15 minutes or so. Sprinkle with fresh herbs. Use a pizza cutter or knife to cut into slices and serve warm or at room temperature.

Serves 3 – 4 as a main course. Try serving it with a big green salad {I’m partial to arugula with lemon and olive oil, lots of black pepper, and a few shards of Parmigiano-Reggiano} to feed 4 happily.

Goat Cheese Variation: To use goat cheese instead of mozzarella, you’ll use a bit more tomato and a bit less cheese. Instead of alternating the tomato slices with the mozzarella, use only tomato slices. Dot the surface with chunks of fresh goat cheese (4 ounces should do the trick), and carry on with the rest of the recipe.